Super Selene Sweater: Love of Scandinavian knitting designs

Super Selene Sweater

Inspired by the success of Woodsmoke sweater I am yet again after a sweater, this time for myself. I am trying to restrain myself by thinking that I might not be ready for something advanced and buying some yarn instead to knit a dress for my daughter.

New discoveries

At the same time, I am on the journey of discovering that YouTube could be a useful platform for getting to know and being inspired by other knitters. I particularly enjoyed watching the first knitting episode of a lady from Denmark (Danish Musings channel), where she showcases all the sweaters she has knitted in 2022. I watched that video a few times simply because I could not stop being in awe with her knitting journey. She was the one who introduced me to the whole world of Scandinavian knitting patterns and specifically to Anne Ventzel, a Danish knitwear designer. There are quite a few of her patterns which I wanted to knit but I thought I needed a bit more experience before I could embark on something so beautiful.

Super Selene Sweater

Then suddenly it turns out that Anne Ventzel has a cancer and is undergoing the cancer treatment. The knitting community decides to support her by organising a knit along (KAL) of her newest sweater pattern called Super Selene.  A shop owner from the UK has organised an English-speaking KAL and I am seriously tempted to participate. It is an opportunity to ask questions should I have any and to having the support means a lot to a newbie. So, I have purchased the pattern, more needles, some yarn. Hence, another sweater started right on the first day of the new year.

Participation in KAL

Being limited in time, I could not acquire the suggested yarn. The yarn I used is Drops Air in combination with Drops Kid-Silk. The former is quite bulky in comparison with the merino I used for the first sweater. So, while everyone seems to be complaining about using 3mm needles, I found that size quite comfortable to knit with (even if it takes longer to finish an object) and had to purchase a whole set of interchangeable needles to accommodate for the larger needle sizes. I just did not have any needles of that size.

The Super Selene sweater is quite oversized and while I was after the simple Nordic pattern, I did not really want my sweater to be that big. It is here where my knitting tension came handy. I still knitted the smallest size (and skipped a couple of rows in the yoke to lift up the sleeves) and  the achieved look was roomy but not that of the other pictures of the sweater I have seen. I am super happy with it and most importantly, it is AMAZINGLY warm. For someone who is constantly cold it is just perfect.

There is a special sort of feeling of being able to wear something you have created yourself. I found that it makes me rethink about my buying patterns and oddly enough to slow down and rather spend the money on yarn instead.

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My first knitted sweater

Green sweater
Woodsmoke Sweater made by me / Pattern by Jessica McDonald

After knitting endless socks for the whole family I felt that it is time for a challenge. That challenge had to be knitting a sweater. Any sweater. However, I simply did not know where to start as I have never knitted anything that complicated. I browsed a few patterns and videos of people knitting but was left wondering where do I start?

This is when I came to a YouTube video by Jessica McDonald who just released a video with a title How to Knit Your First Sweater. Bingo! I have found a four hour long video tutorial on knitting the whole sweater from start to finish. It was exactly what I needed. I promptly purchased her pattern and some yarn and started knitting.

Green merino sweater

I ran into problems almost immediately. My knitting tension is generally tighter than what patterns call for, so my gauge was quite far from the intended for the pattern. Luckily, the pattern is very accommodating and has a lot of sizes available. The sweater was intended for my son, so I decided to knit one size up in order to keep the yarn I purchased and not to complicate things too much.

I am happy to report that the decision was right and the garment fits him quite well. I, on the other hand, is delighted that I am capable of knitting such a large item which does not look too rustic. The recipient was also happy to receive an item made specifically for him.

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